General hello newbies 1st Question 1.2 16v brava

[stonesie]

hi all
just bought a brava 1.2 16v for not a lot but its cambets stripped, anyhow i ripped the head off and its bent all 16 valves

what i really want to know is are these engines known for nipping the rings or will it be ok with a re-con head, im planning to keep this for a while as my dads had a 1.6 version for 3 years now with nothing but bulbs being replaced

 

[ZZR6]

Only if not had belt changed regularly. I think most say 48,000miles between changes. Mine is a 1.6 but thats another story

 

[Bushboy]

the 1.2s are very reliable engines and are found in a number of Fiat cars such as the punto, bravo/a and stilo.

however, much like all cars, if they are neglected they will fail

 

[jug]

are these engines known for nipping the rings or will it be ok with a re-con head

what do you mean by nipping the rings?

a recon head will be fine but it costs more and often recon means repaired as cheaply as possible rather than overhauled.

it will be cheaper to get a scrapyard head (£50 with warranty usually). as long as you check it prior to fitting it will be fine.

fitting a set of new valves to the original head would also be a good option if you can do it yourself because it wont cost much and once the valves are ground in you know the valves will be sealing perfectly, which should mean the engine gives better performance and mpg.

 

[stonesie]

By nipping the rings i maen when the pistons hit the valves are they known to compress the piston crown so that the ring grooves close up a bit 'nipping' the rings so that they cant moove freely, if they do this then soon after the repair work to the top end it will start burning oil



Anyway its all accademic now, all 16 valve guides are fubar and the guy i got it from says the gearbox is knackered too.... i think hes 1 of those people who kicks the s***e out of a car every day but dosent eaven know how to check the oil:bang: :bang:

Going to have a tour of scrapyards to see if theres any deals to be had on a punto sporting engine and box....

 

[mountainmachine]

Or a normal 1.2 16v as its the same engine, just a different gearbox. The punto box will give better acceleration but lower top speed.

 

[jug]

By nipping the rings i maen when the pistons hit the valves are they known to compress the piston crown so that the ring grooves close up a bit 'nipping' the rings so that they cant moove freely, if they do this then soon after the repair work to the top end it will start burning oil

oh right! now i get you
best thing to do is look at the piston faces. if there is a indentation where a valve made contact on any or all of them you know there is also a chance that the con rod is bent below the cylinder. that is usually what causes a piston to seize up after a belt snap. turning the crank by hand is the best way to check for this type of damage. all piston's should rise to the exact same point, and the crank should turn smoothly with constant resistance. if you check the bottom end this way you can be fairly sure there is no damage.